The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on supraorbital minicraniotomy for intracranial aneurysm.

Description

Cerebral aneurysms are small balloon-like dilated portions of blood vessels that may occasionally rupture, causing brain haemorrhage, stroke or death. Therapy is then designed to support recovery from the initial bleed, together with specific treatment to prevent re-bleeding.

The majority of cerebral aneurysms arise from the major blood vessels in the centre of the head as they cross the space between the skull and the brain (the subarachnoid space). The standard surgical approach to this area is through an incision in the scalp just in front of the ear and an opening in the underlying bone on the side of the head. The abnormal vessels are approached side-on in the subarachnoid space beneath the brain. The surgical treatment of cerebral aneurysms involves placing a permanent clip across the neck of the aneurysm (effectively closing the neck of the balloon) to separate it from the normal vessel while preserving blood flow to the brain. If clipping is not possible, the aneurysm may be reinforced by wrapping it with synthetic material to reduce the risk of rupture.

Supraorbital minicraniotomy is an alternative approach through a smaller incision made above the eyebrow and through the underlying skull. This allows a front-on approach to the abnormal vessels. The aneurysm is then clipped or wrapped using conventional microsurgical instruments.

OPCS4.6 Code(s)

A code from Y46.- Open approach to contents of cranium or Y47.- Burrhole approach to contents of cranium would be used as a supplementary code following a code from Chapter ‘L’ for the primary intracranial aneurysm surgery carried out.

The NHS Classifications Service has advised NICE that currently these are the most suitable OPCS-4 codes to describe this procedure. The OPCS-4 classification is designed to categorise procedures for analysis and it is not always possible to identify a procedure uniquely.

The NHS Classifications Service of NHS Connecting for Health is the central definitive source for clinical coding guidance and determines the coding standards associated with the classifications (OPCS-4 and ICD-10) to be used across the NHS. The NHS Classifications Service and NICE work collaboratively to ensure the most appropriate classification codes are provided. www.connectingforhealth.co.uk/clinicalcoding